Are robot sales up or down? It depends on how you interpret the numbers.

The Robotics Industries Association, the trade group of the industry, says the dollar value of orders from robot makers rose 243 percent in the first quarter of the year over the same period a year earlier. In dollars, orders reached $185.7 million, up from $54.2 million in the year-earlier period. But actual shipments in the quarter were virtually unchanged and the dollar value fell from $81.5 million to $63.8 million.

Jeff Burnstein, a spokesman for the Dearborn, Mich.-based trade association, said it looks as if the numbers in the first quarter might reflect one or two big orders rather than a widespread industry boom.

In Central Florida, there is no boom in robotics sales or orders at robotics-related firms, according to officials at both General Electric Co.'s robot division in Plymouth and at Automation Intelligence Inc. in Orlando.

''We have not seen that surge of orders yet,'' said Ted Fluchradt, Automation's president. Automation is a supplier of vision systems to the robotics manufacturers. There is a lot of talk of new business, Fluchradt said, but the discussions haven't led to new orders. ''I think you're going to find the next report from the robot companies is not that glowing,'' he said. As for GE, spokesman Lynn Barnes said the robotics side of the company's business ''is in pretty good shape.'' As for business in the related vision systems department, Barnes said it had been off somewhat from estimates.